Jungle of Dreams
by Spicetwist
Summary: Laura is seriously injured and dreams of romance and adventure.
1. Chapter 1

Disclaimer: I don't own any of these characters, nor do I have any association with ABC.  
  
Summery: Laura is seriously injured and has an adventurous dream.

**Chapter 1**  
  
Laura Spencer sat at her desk at Deception signing a large stack of papers She kept glancing at the clock. She was going to be late for her meeting.  
  
What a time for Elton to be off sick. His replacement, William, had a bad habit of waiting to the last minute to do anything. He didn't give her this stack of papers to sign until ten minutes before she needed to leave and the papers needed to be signed today.   
  
Laura stopped signing and picked up the phone. She tried to call the gentleman she was supposed to meet, but there was no answer. She went back to her papers, signing them as fast as she could.  
  
Just before she signed the last paper, the phone rang. Laura knew that William had left for the day. She thought about just letting it ring, but decided that it might be important. She picked it up.  
  
"Hello?" she said.  
  
"Hi Angel," Luke's voice answered.  
  
"Luke is this really important, I am in a really big hurry."  
  
"I'll make it quick. I wanted to know if you could meet me at Kelly's for dinner?"  
  
"I have a meeting tonight so I couldn't be there before seven."  
  
"Seven is fine. I'll meet you there, all right?"  
  
"All right. Luke I've really got to go."  
  
"That's all right, I understand. Bye," he said.  
  
"Bye," she said hanging up the phone.  
  
Laura quickly signed the last paper and put on her coat. She turned out the lights in her office and put the papers on her assistants desk.  
  
She rushed outside and jumped in her car. She was already ten minutes late and she had to go all the way across town. She started the car and sped off.  
  
She turned the corner hoping the police didn't see her since she was exceeding the speed limit just a little.  
  
A truck pulled out of a parking lot into her path. She hit the brakes, but she knew she was going to fast to stop. She turned the wheel sharply to the left and lost control of the car. She screamed as the car left the road and landed upside down in a ditch. She felt a moment of pain before everything went black.


	2. Chapter 2

  
**Chapter 2**  
  
**Nairobi****, ****Kenya**  
  
Twenty year old Laura Webber opened her eyes and saw that she was in a brightly colored room. "Where am I," she thought. She got out of bed and quickly dressed. She walked into the next room and saw her parents.  
  
"Where are we?" she asked yawing.  
  
"Can you believe this?" Rick asked. "She bugged us for weeks to go along with Scotty to Kenya to find his father and now that we're here she doesn't know where we are."  
  
"We're in Kenya? Oh that's right Scott's father disappeared here a few months ago."  
  
"Yes and after Scott said that he didn't want to get married until he found out what happened to his father, you insisted on us going with him," said Rick. "Are you all right Laura?"  
  
"I remember, Dad. I wasn't all the way awake."  
  
There was a knock on the door. Lesley opened it and their stood Scotty Baldwin.  
  
"Are you all ready to go? The cars will be here in a few minutes," he said.  
  
"Yes," Laura said walking over and kissing him.  
  
Rick cleared his throat to remind her that he and Lesley were still in the room. Laura and Scotty pulled apart.  
  
"So Scotty," Rick said. "What is the name of the guide you hired?"  
  
"Luke Spencer. He is supposed to be the best there is. I hope that's true," he said with a far away look on his face.  
  
Laura knew he was thinking about his father. Six months earlier, Lee Baldwin was flying from South Africa to a meeting in Kenya but the small plane crashed before he got there. The pilot had reported hearing a strange clicking sound coming from the plane's single engine. In the last known radio message, the pilot had reported that the engine had failed and that he and Lee were bailing out. There had been no word from either of them since. The authorities had found the wreckage of the plane, but there was no sign of Lee or the pilot. The only sign of hope Scotty had was the report that the planes two parachutes were missing.   
  
Scotty refused to give up the hope that his father was alive. He intended to take every step possible to find him. Even if it meant risking his life on this safari to search the jungle for him.  
  
He just never expected Laura to come along. He had warned her that this trip would be dangerous and told her to stay in Port Charles where she would be safe. Laura on the other hand, had ideas of her own and she had a stubborn streak in her a mile wide. When she made up her mind to do something, she couldn't be talked out of it.  
  
The phone rang and Rick answered it. He listened a moment and thanked whoever was at the other end.  
  
"That was the desk clerk, the car is here."  
  
Laura smiled and took Scotty's hand. "Let's go find your father," she said.  
  
The four of them left the hotel room and went down to the awaiting car.


	3. Chapter 3

**Chapter 3  
  
Port Charles**  
  
Luke walked into Kellys. He heard a siren passing as the door closed behind him. He shuddered at the sound. He felt that something was wrong, but he didn't know what.  
  
He sat down at a table as Bobbie came out of the kitchen.  
  
"Hey, what brings you in here all alone?" she asked sitting down at the table with him.  
  
"Hi Barbara. I'm meeting Laura here for dinner."  
  
He looked at the clock. It was 7:15. "She's late. I guess her meeting went longer than she expected. Are you waiting tables tonight?"  
  
"Yes, one of the waitresses called and said she was going to be late tonight. There is a bad accident and the road is blocked so she has to detour way around to the other side of town."  
  
"Maybe that's why Laura is late. I don't know where her meeting was. She could be caught in the traffic from the detour."  
  
"Could be," Bobbie said. "Would you like some coffee while you're waiting?"  
  
Luke nodded. Bobbie was back in a few minutes with his coffee. He didn't get to talk to her anymore, because the diner became busy.  
  
After an hour had passed, Luke began to get worried. Laura was never this late without calling. He pulled out his cell phone to call her, but before he could dial, it rang.   
  
"Hello?"  
  
"Luke, it Amy."  
  
He could tell something was wrong by the sound of her voice.  
  
"Amy, what is it? What's wrong?"  
  
"Luke, I'm at the hospital. They... they just brought Laura in through emergency."  
  
"What happened?" he yelled.  
  
"She was in a automobile accident. Luke's she's... she's unconscious," Amy said breaking into tears.  
  
"I'll be right there!" he said hanging up.  
  
He stood up so quickly that his chair fell over backwards.  
  
"Luke? Luke what's wrong?" Bobbie asked.  
  
"It's Laura. She was in an accident. I have to get to the hospital."  
  
He ran out the door almost knocking Courtney down as she came in.  
  
"Good you're here," Bobbie said to her. She handed Courtney the apron. "Take over for me," she said running out the door after Luke.


	4. Chapter 4

**Chapter 4**  
  
**Mari****Village****, ****Kenya**  
  
Amid the round, thatched huts of the native village, Luke Spencer walked slowly with a look of sadness on his face. The natives stared at him in confusion as one by one he passed them in total silence. They did not need to be told that something was wrong with their friend. Ever since he came to their village, five years ago, he had never failed to say a kind word to each person he passed. Now he walked by as if he didn't even see them.  
  
At the end of the long row of huts, stood one as large as three of the others put together. Before entering the hut, Luke stopped to look at the handpainted sign which hung next to the door.  
  
Much of the beauty of the sign had disappeared over the last five years, as the paint became more and more faded by the sun. Reaching out with one hand, he ran his fingers over it, watching the paint chips fall to the ground. What memories this old painting held for him.  
  
After hesitating for a moment, Luke gathered his courage and entered the hut. Robert Scorpio sat in an old rocking chair at the far end of the room. He watched as Luke took a sheet of paper from his coat pocket. Luke stared at the paper for a moment and shook his head in disbelief. A tear fell from his eye and blurred the ink as it hit the paper. Robert cleared his throat to alert Luke to his presense. Luke jumped at the unexpected sound.  
  
"Hello Robert," he said trying to keep his voice from showing any trace of the pain he felt.  
  
"Luke, welcome back. How was your trip to London?" asked Robert in charming Austrailian accent.  
  
"Ok."  
  
"Ok? You spend three weeks in London with that beautiful wife of yours and all you can say is that the trip was ok? By the way, how is Jennifer?"  
  
Luke turned to face Robert and said slowly, "She's fine, but I need to tell you something. Robert, Jennifer and I are no longer married."  
  
"What?"  
  
"That was why she asked me to come to London to see her. She wanted me to sign the divorce papers. It's over, Robert."  
  
"But the two of you were so much in love. I know she went back to London because she couldn't stand African climate, but to divorce you us something else. I didn't know the two of you were having trouble with your marriage. Why didn't you tell me?" Robert asked with concern.  
  
"Because I didn't know either. I knew that she was not happy here and that she wanted me to return to London with her, even though she knew I couldn't. But the last time I spoke to her, she sounded like she understood. I guess I was wrong."  
  
"But what reason did she give for the divorce? I mean she had to give the judge a good reason for divorcing you or else he wouldn't have granted it. She couldn't just ask for a divorce because she didn't like where you worked."  
  
"She filed on the grounds of abandonment," said Luke.  
  
"Abandonment?" Robert said with disbelief. "That is total nonsense. You never abandoned her. In fact, she is the one who left you."  
  
"Jennifer said that it was because I refused to go back to London with her. She knew perfectly well that I had a ten year contract to work here for Mr Quartermaine. She knew tht I couldn't just pack my bags and leave whenever I felt like it. She told the judge that since I wouldn't accompany her back to London, that I loved my job more than her. So she claims that I abandoned her for my job."  
  
"That is ridiculous," said Robert. "Why weren't you notified that she had filed for divorce? You had a right to know."  
  
"I was notified, but I didn't know about it until it was too late. I was off leading a safari when it arrived. The paper I got said that if I didn't respond by the specified date then the divorce would be considered to be uncontested. By the time I received it, the date had passed. So the judge decided that I also wanted the divorce."  
  
"When did you receive the notice?"  
  
"A few months ago, but when Jennifer called and said that she wanted to see me, I thought she had changed her mind. I thought she wanted me to come so that we could reconcile our differences and save our marriage. But when I got there, she refused to even speak to me."  
  
"That doesn't sound like the Jennifer I knew," said Robert.  
  
"I know," Luke said. "She has really changed since she left here last summer."  
  
"Changed? How?"  
  
"I'm not sure. She just acts differently. Her clothes, her moods and even her whole attitude seemed different. She is not the same Jennifer Smith I married."  
  
"Luke, I'm so sorry. Is there anything I can do for you? You were such a great comfort to me when my beloved Anna died two years ago. Now I would like to repay your kindness," Robert said.  
  
"There is one thing," Luke said.  
  
"Just name it and consider it done."  
  
"I want you to get rid of all the things she left here. You can send them back to her. You can give them to the villagers. You can even burn them for all I care. I just want them out of here, today if possible. I don't want anything to remind me of her. I'm going to take a walk and try to clear my head. I'll be back in about an hour."  
  
"All right Luke."  
  
On his way out the door, Luke stopped to look at the faded sign again. Everything on the sign, from the careful painting of the jungle animals to the beautiful calligraphy forming the word 'Office,' reminded him of the day Jennifer had given it to him after weeks of working on it in secret. He had always treasured it, because she had made it just for him. Now all it held was painful memories of a love that was dead.  
  
He stuck his head back into the hut. "Robert, you can start by burning this sign. We need a new one anyway." Taking one last look at the sign, he walked away.


	5. Chapter 5

**Chapter 5**  
  
**Port Charles**  
  
Luke and Bobbie rushed into the emergency room. They saw Amy standing in the corridor crying.  
  
Luke was afraid to ask her about Laura, but he had to. "How... how is she?"  
  
"Not good," Amy sniffed. "She's still unconscious and she's lost a lot of blood. They just rushed her into surgery."  
  
For the next four hours, Luke paced the waiting room. "She has to be all right," he kept saying to himself.  
  
Finally the nurse came out to talk to them. "How is she doing?" Luke asked.  
  
"Well she's holding on, but you have to understand that she has suffered some extensive internal injuries."  
  
"Are you saying she's going to die?"  
  
"I'm saying its a possibility that you have to be prepared for. Of course, I've seen people with worse injuries recover completely. It's just too soon to tell."  
  
"Can I see her?"  
  
"Not yet. She's still in recovery. She'll be there for several hours. When they move her, you may see her, but only for a few minutes."  
  
Luke nodded.  
  
Bobbie and Amy walked up to Luke. Each one of them gave him a hug.  
  
"Has anyone told Lesley?" Amy asked.  
  
"Um... no," Luke said. "I came straight here. I never thought about calling her."  
  
"This is not something that you would want to tell her over the phone anyway," Bobbie said.  
  
Luke nodded. "You're right."  
  
"Well, I just got off work. I'll go over to the house and let her know what's going on." Amy said.  
  
"Thanks Amy," Luke said giving her another hug.  
  
He watched her leave the waiting room and then turned to Bobbie. "Barbara, what am I going to do if I lose her?" he said with tears in his eyes.  
  
Bobbie didn't know what to say. She couldn't remember the last time she saw her brother cry. She put her arms around him and held him.


	6. Chapter 6

**Chapter 6  
  
****Kenya**  
  
Sitting in the back of the speeding jeep, Laura Webber held on tightly to keep from being bounced out as the jeep flew over the bumpy, dirt road. Her long blonde hair glistened in the sun as it flew straight out behind her. Her knuckles were white from the tightness of her grip on the safety bar.  
  
"Can't you slow down some?" she called to the driver. He mumbled something back in a language she didn't understand. She turned to Scott who was sitting beside her.  
  
"Scotty, can't you do something? Make him slow down. You're paying him, so he has to listen to you."  
  
"Not if he doesn't understand what I'm saying."  
  
"What? You mean to tell me that we are in a jeep being driven my a maniac who thinks he's a race car driver and he doesn't even speak English? That is just great Scotty. How des he know where he is supposed to take us?"  
  
"Laura, he has worked for Mr Quartermaine for years. He knows where he is going. So you see, there is nothing to worry about," said Scott.  
  
"That's a relief. But I wish he would slow down. I would like to live long enough to start the search for your father," Laura said trying to smile.  
  
She glanced behind them. They had left the jeep carrying her parents in the dust a long time ago. She hoped they were all right.  
  
"I'm sure this driver has an excellent drving record," said Scott. As soon as the words were out of his mouth, he was thrown against Laura as the jeep took a curve on two wheels.  
  
"Or maybe not," he said biting his lip to keep from laughing at the look of fear on Laura's face. He put his arm around her. "Calm down, we're almost there. See?" He pointed to the village they were approaching.  
  
Laura started to say something, but didn't have time to utter a sound. The jeep came to a screeching halt, just narrowly missing the side of a hut. She immediately jumped out, fell to her knees and kissed the ground.  
  
Scott couldn't help laughing at her this time. Laura was always over dramatic about things, but kissing the ground was going a little far, even for her.  
  
He removed their luggage from the jeep and handed Laura her suitcases. As they walked through the village, they saw no one, but they felt like they were being watched. Scott glanced to each side of him and saw the natives watching from the doors and windows of the huts.  
  
They had almost reached the big hut that housed Luke Spencer's office, when the lock on Laura's suitcase broke. He clothing and other items fellout and landed on the hard, dirt path.  
  
The natives came out of hiding and gathered around her and her spilled possessions. They had never seen some of the items before. On man picked up her bra and studied it carefully. Suddenly he smiled. he bent down, picked up a rock and tried to use the bra as a slingshot. It didn't work. Once more confussion swept over his face.  
  
"Give me that!" said Laura with a hit of annoyance in her voice. She grabbed he bra from the man and threw it into her suitcase. She glanced at Scott, who stood next to her grinning. "You're enjoying this aren't you?" she asked.   
  
"Yes," he said before he doubled over with laughter.  
  
"Very funny. Now get down her and help me pick this stuff up. Or is that asking too much?"  
  
Still laughing, Scott bent down and helped her put her things back into her suitcase. Then he stood up and knocked on the office door. Luke answered it.  
  
"Can I help you?" Luke asked.  
  
"Is this the office of Quartermaine Safaris?"  
  
"Yes. I'm Luke Spencer and you are...?"  
  
"Scott Baldwin."  
  
"Yes. I've been expecting you Mr Baldwin," said Luke. "Please come in."  
  
Scott entered the hut with Laura right behind him. Luke turned around and saw Laura for the first time. "And who is this?" he asked.  
  
"Oh, I'm sorry. Luke Spencer, this is Laura Webber."  
  
Luke walked right past Scott and took Laura's hand. "I'm VERY happy to me you," he said kissing her hand.  
  
Laura blushed and smiled shyly at him. She was unable to speak. She wasn't sure what to make of this handsome man.


End file.
